NGO/532
14 May 2004
Committee on NGOs Recommends 20 Organizations for Consultative Status with Economic and Social Council
Also Recommends Status Reclassification for Three, Defers Action on Six
NEW YORK, 14 May (UN Headquarters) -- During today’s morning and afternoon sessions, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) recommended a total of 20 organizations for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. It also recommended reclassification for three others and deferred action on a further six NGOs.
The 19-member Committee makes recommendations to the Council on the status of NGOs by using certain criteria, such as the applicant’s mandate, governance and financial structures. Those organizations approved for general status can attend meetings, circulate statements, and propose items for the Council’s consideration. Those with special status can attend meetings and circulate statements, while those with roster status can only attend meetings.
During its morning session, the Committee approved roster status for:
-- StarSpirit International, Inc., a United States-based international organization which seeks to address the needs of Africans and African Americans across the diaspora. It specifically seeks to heal wounds to identity resulting from the legacy of enslavement, colonialism, and racism.
-- Bird Life International, a global alliance of conservation organizations, which strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, and works towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. Among its long-term aims is to prevent the extinction of any bird species in the wild and to integrate bird conservation with sustainable human livelihoods.
The Committee recommended special consultative status for:
-- National Coalition for Haitian Rights, Inc., a national coalition of United States and Haitian religious, labour and human rights organizations established in 1982. Among other tasks, it seeks to promote and protect the rights of Haitians under United States and international law;
In “ad referendum decisions” -- pending further documentation -- it also recommended special status for:
-- Thailand Environment Institute, a national organization seeking to play a catalytic role in environmental issues by helping to formulate national policies and collaborating with various international organizations to promote environmental awareness at the global level;
-- Won-Bhuddism Women’s Association, a national organization based in the Republic of Korea, was founded in 1995 to motivate women of Won-Bhuddism to uphold domestic and social morality based on the teachings of Dharmakaya Bhudda;
-- World Youth Foundation is an international organization based in Melaka, Malaysia. It was launched in 1994 with the aim of promoting research, development and documentation of youth programmes beneficial to youth worldwide. It provides a platform for young people both locally and internationally to come together under one roof and talk about issues that concern them;
-- Institute for Inter-Religious Dialogue, an Iran-based national organization, whose purpose is to remove obstacles to the establishment of security and lasting peace throughout the world. Among its goals is the appreciation of other religions, as well as one’s own;
-- Turtle Island Restoration Network, a United States-based international organization which develops sustainable ocean policies based on sound scientific research to ensure healthy biodiversity in the oceans, to save endangered sea turtles and other marine species from extinction and to address the economic needs of communities that rely on the seas;
-- Volontari nel Mondo - FOCSIV, a national organization based in Rome, which coordinates 57 Italian organizations dealing with international cooperation and relief, as well as fair and sustainable civic and economic development. It aims to affirm values and international solidarity, to further social and economic development, and support the defence and promotion of fundamental rights of all people and all populations;
-- War Veterans Committee (WVC), an international Russian-based organization, seeks to improve the quality and standard of life of war veterans, participants in local conflicts, and victims of terrorism by, among other things, developing programmes for victims and their families, and providing legal and advisory assistance, as well as medical, social, labour and psychological rehabilitation;
-- The Planetary Association for Clean Energy, Inc., an international organization founded in 1975 in Ottawa, Canada, which seeks to promote and steward “clean energy systems” for eventual implementation on a planetary-wide scale;
-- Academy of Mining Sciences, a national Russian-based organization aimed at promoting research and development towards the creation of novel technologies for the development of mineral deposits and mine construction. It also seeks to promote, among other things, sustainable energy research and development; and
-- Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy (CHRAPA), a national organization based in Cameroon, strives to promote and protect human rights, educate and sensitize the general public, empower women for sustainable development, observe and follow up respect for human rights, democratic evolution and good governance, and offer other support and legal services, including for youth and victims of human rights violations.
The Committee deferred action on the application of:
-- Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, a United States-based international organization which draws on Catholic social teaching that sees peace as inseparable from justice and acts to prevent and resolve conflicts that threaten local, national and international peace.
During its afternoon session, the Committee heard new applications for consultative status and new requests for reclassification. It recommended the reclassification from roster to special status for:
-- International Police Association, which is based in the United Kingdom. Its aims include the development of cultural relations among its members, a broadening of their general knowledge and an exchange of professional experience. In addition, it seeks to contribute to peaceful coexistence among different peoples;
-- Life Institute, based in Switzerland and established in 1960. The international NGO is engaged in fundamental and applied, theoretical and practical reflection on life and the human condition, both in terms of the human species in the biosphere and of human beings in all their dimensions.
The Committee recommended the reclassification from special to general status for:
-- World Movement of Mothers, a Paris-based international NGO with 35 individual members and 65 organization members in 34 countries. Established in 1949, it aims to motivate, rally and support mothers in the fulfilment of their duties, both in the family and society. It also seeks to reduce the forms of discrimination, exclusion and violence against mothers and children.
The Committee then took up new applications and recommended: special status for Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund Inc.; All India Shah Behram Baug Society; and Agricultural Missions, which had previously been deferred.
It recommended roster status, on an ad referendum basis, for FIA Foundation for the Automobile and Society; International Electric Research Exchange (IERE); Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI); and International Network of Street Papers (INSP).
The Committee deferred action on applications by Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace; Aland Islands Peace Institute; Tarumitra, a national NGO based in India; and Morality in Media. Taking up applications that had been deferred previously, it again deferred the request of VIVAT International.
The Committee members are Cameroon, Chile, China, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, France, Germany, India, Ira, Peru, Pakistan, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Sudan, Turkey, United States, and Zimbabwe.
The Committee on NGOs will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, 14 May, to begin its consideration of special reports.
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